TIKS4DRR


 Cyclone/Typhoon/Hurricane

A cyclone, a typhoon, and a hurricane are all different names for the same type of storm: a tropical cyclone. A tropical cyclone is a large-scale, atmospheric wind-and-pressure system characterized by low pressure at its centre and by circular wind motion. These storms form over warm ocean waters and can produce strong winds, heavy rain, thunderstorms, and storm surge. The name of a tropical cyclone depends on where it originates. In the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, these storms are called hurricanes. In the western and northwestern Pacific Ocean and the northern Indian Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, they are simply called cyclones (UNDRR, 2017).

2021 Typhoon Kiko (Wikimedia Commons)

Secondary hazards

Flooding

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan caused widespread flooding and landslides in the Philippines, killing more than 6000 people displacing more than 4 million people and triggering mudflows and rockfalls.

Landslides

The Mud Creek landslide in California, USA  was triggered by heavy rainfall from a series of storms in January and February 2017, including a powerful atmospheric river event that brought moisture from Typhoon Nock-ten in the western Pacific.

Fire

The Camp Fire in California, USA was ignited by a faulty electric transmission line on November 8, 2018, during a period of extreme fire weather conditions influenced by the remnants of Typhoon Yutu, a powerful storm that had struck the Northern Mariana Islands a few weeks earlier.

Examples of Traditional and Indigenous knowledge

  • In the Philippines, indigenous groups have rituals and beliefs that help them cope with typhoons, such as offering prayers, sacrifices, and dances to appease the spirits of the wind and water, (Abadiano, 2017).
  • In Australia, some Aboriginal communities have stories and songs that transmit their knowledge and experience of cyclones, such as the Gurirr-Gurirr cycle that recounts the devastation and recovery from Cyclone Tracy in 1974, or the Dreamtime stories that explain the origin and meaning of cyclones (McDougall, 2017).
  • In India, some coastal communities have traditional practices and technologies that help them reduce the impact of cyclones, such as planting mangroves and coconut trees as natural barriers (Sharma, 2012).
Communities developing mangrove nurseries for plantation in the Sundarbans (Author:Sukrit Sen)

References

Abadiano, M. (2017). Exploring Indigenous Knowledge, Community Resilience and Belief Systems in Typhoon-prone Areas of Samar, Philippines. Retrieved from Academia: https://www.academia.edu/92996974/Exploring_Indigenous_Knowledge_Community_Resilience_and_Belief_Systems_in_Typhoon_prone_Areas_of_Samar_Philippines

McDougall, R. (2017). Cyclones, Indigenous and Invasive, in Northern Australia. Retrieved from Tracking the Literature of Tropical Weather: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-41516-1_7

Sharma, S. K. (2012). Cyclone Risk Mitigation- India perspective. Retrieved from NDMA: https://ndma.gov.in/sites/default/files/Newsletter-Aug22/Cyclone%20Risk%20Mitigation-%20India%20perspective.pdf

UNDRR. (2017). Disaster Risk Reduction Terminology. Retrieved from The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Glossary: https://www.undrr.org/drr-glossary/terminology

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